Fabulously Cheeky

Once you know your vertical body type, it is easy to determine the best length for your tops.

Long legs + short torso:
For this body type to look balanced, you need to visually shorten the legs and lengthen the torso. Low waisted pants are good for this, and also long tops. The most flattering length is somewhere near your hip socket. Being 5’8″ with very long legs, my most flattering top length is 24-25″. 23″ is a bit on the short side, and 27″ looks disproportionate the other way. If I wear anything shorter than 23″, I look way taller than I actually am. The other trick to visually lengthen your torso is by using long necklaces, long scarfs hanging down, and low slung belts (no waist belts, unless the belt is the same color as your top). You can also layer the look with a long t-shirt and a shorter jacket. But normally, jackets look best if they are quite long.

Balanced legs and torso:
If you have a balanced body type where legs and torso are equal length, you have to stay away from any extremes. Pants should be mid rise, and tops should be a few inches longer than the top of your hip bone. No cropped tops, cropped pants or long tops. The proportions are already correct and should not be visually changed.

Short legs and long torso:
If you have short legs and a long torso, high rise pants, or pants that go to your natural waist, are more flattering. Pinstripes visually lengthens the legs. The torso should be visually shortened with cropped tops and jackets and tucked in t-shirts. Belts around the waist look great if your body is slim. Avoid long hanging scarfs and long necklaces. A pretty pin would be a better choice. Long skirts are also a good way to visually lengthen short legs. Even though I hate high heels with a passion, moderate heels are not a bad option for this body type, since it also helps even out the proportions.

Clue: If you always find yourself pulling or tugging on your top, you need longer tops. Pay attention to where you like to pull it down to – that is usually where your best length is. Likewise, if you are always blousing your top upwards, see where you usually push it to, and buy tops that have that specific length.

Short waisted:
If you measure your hip to bust and find that you are short waisted, you have to always try to lengthen this part. Baby doll type empire tops may look great, and also vertical stripes. Definitely no horizontal stripes, and no waist belts. Fitted tops and princess seams are another good way to lengthen your midbody. And don’t even think about using cropped tops. Longer tops look better, as long as they don’t shorten the legs too much. Check in the mirror to see where the length of the top looks just right.

Now, when I buy cloting on ebay, I don’t even look at clothing that has the wrong length. What is the point? It just makes me look dis-proportionate if the length is wrong. Recently, I just hit my 50th birthday, and since I believe that a girl needs a major makeover every time she hits another decade (and probably in between as well), I threw out all the tops that were too short, and went wild on ebay, looking for longer tops. Finally, my wardrobe really works, and I am very happy. It is fun to create your own clothing style.
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Tags: Body Type, Clothing Style, Create Your Own Clothing Style, How Do I Determine My Body Type, makeover

Because dressing well is all about balancing proportions, you need to know what your vertical body type is before you can tell what clothing is more flattering. The best way to determine your body is to take out your measuring tape again.

In the last post, I talked about how you can measure your leg length, subtract it from your total height, so you can determine if your legs are longer, shorter or equal to your torso length. In addition, you also need to know if you are short or long waisted. To find out how you measure up, start with your leg length first. Measure from the floor to where your legs enter your hip socket. Then, measure from the hip socket to the tip of your bust.

To figure out what your proportions are, first subtract the leg length from your total length. Compare this number with your torso length so you can determine if your legs are long, equal or shorter than your torso.

Then subtract your hip to bust measurement from your torso length. Ideally, hip to bust and bust to top of head are supposed to be equal. If hip to bust is longer, you are long waisted. If hip to bust is shorter, you are short waisted.

Now, write down what your vertical body type is. Here are some possibilities:

Totally balanced: leg length = torso length
Longer Legs: legs are longer than torso
Shorter Legs: legs are shorter than torso
And in addition, you also need to consider whether you are long waisted, short waisted, or if your waist has a normal length.

When buying clothes, the most flattering clothes are the ones that balance out these proportions. Once you know what they are, it is easy to figure out what length top or skirt to buy. More about the length of tops tomorrow.
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Tags: Body Type, Clothing Style, Create Your Own Clothing Style, How Do I Determine My Body Type

Almost nobody has a perfect body, but that’s ok. Instead of trying to be something we can’t be, we have to learn to work with what we have been given. It is all about creating balance visually, by using the right kind of clothes in the right colors.

I recently read a book that I found very helpful called “Staging Your Comeback” by Christopher Hopkins. He is focusing on how women over 45 can create their own clothing style. Although, I don’t agree with his makeup philosophy, he had some very good ideas about clothing style.

One of the most eye opening things I found out about myself was that my legs were actually 4″ longer than my torso!!! I knew they were long, but I didn’t have a clue they were that long. So, if you want to know what clothes to wear, this is the first thing you have to know.

Measure with a stiff tape measure from the floor up to exactly where the leg enters the hip joint. Then subtract this measurement from your total heigth. The most balanced proportions are when torso and leg length are the same. If that is the case, you look best in long pants with a mid rise – not too high, not too low.

If your legs are longer than your torso, you can wear low rise pants, cropped pants and capris, and of course long pants. Stay away from pinstripes, which tends to create a lengthening effect.

If you have shorter legs than torso, you need pants that come all the way to your waist. Stay away from cropped and capris. Pinstripes are your friend.

When it comes to skirt lengths, you first have to decide what kinds of shoes you are willing to wear. If you love comfortable flats, long skirts or mid leg length is more flattering. If you are willing to wear heels, you can get away with above or below the knee, but don’t even think about wearing flats with a knee length skirt. Flats with knee length are frumpy!

The problem with knee length skirts is that they cut your legs in half. This makes your legs look shorter, so you have to balance the visual shortening with high heels. If you wear long skirts, your legs look fine as they are, so flats are not a problem.

When it comes to mini skirts, you really shouldn’t wear them, unless you are under 30 (or maybe 40…) But, if you do love them, and you have the legs to carry them off, there are two ways to wear them. If you wear your mini with bare legs, the skirt visually shortens your legs, so you need to wear high heels to balance the shortening effect. If you wear your mini with opaque tights in the same color as the skirt, preferably black, you can get away with wearing black, flat boots, since wearing all the same color visually lengthens the legs.

My main priority, when picking a skirt length, has to do with the comfort of my feet, so personally, I prefer to stay with long skirts and flats. Remember, long skirts create long slim lines, and the best thing is, you can wear them with shoes that don’t ruin your feet or damage your back, and it still looks good. A long skirt or long pants with flats is the only style that doesn’t compromise your style, or your comfort. That’s why I love it.
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Tags: Clothing Style, Create Your Own Clothing Style